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September 8, 2005

"Tea for Three" offers portraits of three formidable First Ladies at CW's Kimball Theatre

Three former First Ladies will share secrets about the “hardest unpaid job in the world” on Saturday, Sept. 10 and Sunday, Sept. 11 in the new one-woman show, “Tea for Three: Lady Bird, Pat and Betty,” at Colonial Williamsburg’s Kimball Theatre.

Bromka has 30 years’ experience in film, television, Broadway and off-Broadway, including appearances as the mom in “Uncle Buck” and as Stella on “Days of Our Lives.”
The inspiration for “Tea for Three” came after Bromka starred opposite Rich Little in “The Presidents.” Called upon to impersonate eight of the most recent first ladies, she spent months poring over videotapes of the women to study their body language and speech patterns. During her research, Bromka became drawn in by their personalities.

“These were women of intelligence and grit who suddenly found themselves in a fishbowl,” Bromka observed. “I realized I wanted to tell the story from their point of view.”

The 80-minute performance will be at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 10 and 2:30 p.m. Sept. 11. General admission is $15 for the general public and $12 for seniors and students.
Live performances in September and October spotlight history and include:

Spinning Stories/Spanning Time: A Weekend of Stories Old and New. The Kimball Theatre will host the Friday Night Opening Olio at 7 p.m. Sept. 16 that features eight storytellers, which is part of Colonial Williamsburg’s first national Storytelling Festival. At 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17, Charlotte Blake Alston will perform a one-hour solo concert followed by Donald Davis at 3 p.m. Performers will be available to sign their books and CDs following each concert. In their final performance at the Storytelling Festival on Sunday, Sept. 18, all eight storytellers return for Sacred Stories Olio at 10 a.m. A variety of festival ticket options are offered. For information, call 1-800-HISTORY.

History of Classic Rock, Volume I. Playwrights Premiere Theatre presents this world premiere 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23. Washington D.C.’s rock-and-roll party band, Bad Dog, spins guests through the decades of classic rock in this anthology of the all-time greats, including the Beatles, Van Morrison, Credence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan and Dire Straits among many others. For more information, visit www.pptva.com. All seats $15.

Second City Touring Co. This improvisational theater company returns to create on-the-spot, topical comedy that changes with every performance 7:30 p.m. Sept. 24. Recommended for mature audiences. General admission is $25, seniors and students is $20.

One Noble Journey. Young Audiences of Virginia and BB&T Bank present “One Noble Journey,” a 19th-century story of survival. This is the incredible true story of Henry “Box” Brown who entombed himself in a small crate and secretly shipped himself to a new life in Philadelphia as a free man. The show, which is being presented in celebration of Young Audiences of Virginia’s 50th year, can be seen 3 p.m. Sept. 25. General admission is $5 and seniors and students is $4.

Sinfonicron Light Opera Company: 2005 Benefit Gala. The College of William and Mary presents this program 7:30 p.m. Sept. 29. The concert features talented student performers delivering a review of Gilbert and Sullivan favorites and Broadway treasures. All seats $15.

The Williamsburg Symphonia Subscription Concert #1. At 8 p.m. on Oct. 6 and 8, the Williamsburg Symphonia joins the Muscarelle Museum of Art for a program featuring American Modernism in both fine and performing arts. The museum will exhibit the work of visionary painter Charles E. Burchfield and the Symphonia will feature the music of two modern composers Aaron Copland and Gwyneth Walker. Tickets are $27 and $37. For more information, call (757) 229-9857.

“Preservation and Exploration in the Shadow of John Smith”: 2005 Jamestown Lecture Series. All lectures begin at 7 p.m. Tickets for individual lectures are $9 and are available at the Kimball Theatre box office, at any Colonial Williamsburg ticket facility or by calling 1-800-HISTORY. Series tickets for all three lectures are $25 and available only through the APVA. Please call Ann Berry at (757) 229-0412. The lectures include:
Tuesday, Oct. 11—“The Art of Artifacts: Jamestown’s World Reflected in 16th- and 17th-Century Paintings and Drawings,” Bly Straube, Senior Curator, APVA Preservation Virginia;
Tuesday, Nov. 1—“Archaeological Investigations at Werowocomoco, Political Center of the Powhatan Chiefdom,” Dr. Martin D. Gallivan, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, College of William and Mary; and
Tuesday, Dec. 13—“The New World, Who is Captain X? and Other Mysteries of the 2005 Field Season Revealed,” Dr. William Kelso, Director of Archaeology, APVA Preservation Virginia.

Don’t Dance Me Outside. Award-winning playwright William Borden depicts the chance meeting of a novelist and an architect and the delightfully wicked exploration of sexuality, fidelity, romance and marriage that ensue. The romantic comedy that will keep you guessing can be seen 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14, 15, 21, 22, 28 and 29 and 2 p.m. Oct. 16, 23 and 30. For more information, visit www.pptva.com. General admission is $24 and admission for seniors is $18 and students is $10.

The Kimball Theatre, located in Merchants Square, is owned and operated by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the not-for-profit educational institution that operates the restored 18th-century capital of Virginia. The Kimball Theatre offers live performances and art films seven days each week. For theater program information, call (757) 565-8217. Tickets are available at any Colonial Williamsburg ticketing location or by calling toll-free (800) HISTORY or visiting www.kimballtheatre.com. The Kimball Theatre box office opens one hour before performances.